Entries in IMS
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My bride and I attended the IMS in Greenville, SC on February 26th. It had been at least 10 years since we visited the traveling show, so we knew what we were getting into. Elizabeth had her heart set on talking to protective gear manufacturers about smaller ladies sizes and I was interested in the latest audio farkle - namely the BlueTooth gadgets that are starting to get popular in the motorcycling circles.

Wow! First... Where was the corporate representation? BMW was represented, but only by the local Greenville dealership - Not what I expected. Yes, the BMW Performance Center was there due to local proximity to Greenville - Great folks and well worth the money to take their courses - especially the off-road course. Triumph? MIA! I thought for sure they would be there trying to get the spotlight on their new adventure bikes. Oh well.

Protective clothing manufacturers? Let's just say that Elizabeth was less than pleased that nobody had her size AT the show. She was ready to buy a new set of all-weather riding pants, but was hell-bent on trying them on first. Tip 'o the hat to Ms. Joanne Donn, Gear Expert from gearchic.com that DID spend some time with Elizabeth and gave her some great advice.

BlueTooth farkle - Somewhat well represented, with show marketplace dispays for SENA, ChatterBox, BLiNC and J&M. BUT... where were the people that were supposed to be there to answer my questions? It reminded me of attending a tradeshow in Vegas where by the 2nd day, the help doesn't show up until late in the day. What gives, folks? You pay to exhibit at these shows. Why not send folks that are reliable enough to show up and spend time talking with enthusiasts like myself? This is not some lone rant. I spoke to many others that made the same observations about the show and visibility of the help. I can get the same literature and information off the internet, but made a point to attend the show to get some facetime with the experts. What a let down. It's back to doing my research via experimentation and... the internet.